SignalsAZ.com Prescott News Podcast - Community Update with Prescott Mayor Cathey Rusing - Jan 26th

Episode Date: January 27, 2026

Send us a text and chime in!Prescott Mayor Cathey Rusing provides updates for these topics in her Community Update:The Assembly at the Old City Hall SitePrescott City Council MeetingPrescott Fire Department Check out the CAST11.com Website at: https://CAST11.com Follow the CAST11 Podcast Network on Facebook at: https://Facebook.com/CAST11AZFollow Cast11 Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/cast11_podcast_network

Hello Prescott and welcome to this week's community update. Today I'm coming to you from Fire Station number 71. Being here is a powerful reminder of the service, history, and commitment that define the Prescott Fire Department. And I'm honored to be joined today by our Fire Chief Holdger Dura, who I'll introduce in just a moment. But before we turn to our public safety spotlight, I'd like to share a few recent city updates. Last week, we celebrated the groundbreaking of the assembly on the site of the Old City Hall,

marking an exciting milestone for downtown Prescott. This project represents thoughtful redevelopment, historic preservation, and strong collaboration between the city and private partners. It's another example of how we continue to invest in our community's future while honoring Prescott's pass. The Prescott City Council will meet on Tuesday, January 27th, with a study session. beginning at 1 p.m., followed by the voting meeting at 3.30 p.m. During the study session, counsel will receive presentations and hold discussions on automated license plate readers,

also known as flock cameras, the city wastewater treatment centralization efforts, and the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve in lieu of fee program and conservation easement. To ensure efficient use of time, each of these topics will be limited to 45 minutes. No public comment will be taken during the study session, but written comments may be submitted to city.com council at Prescott-A-Z.gov. And during the voting meeting, counsel will continue discussion on an ordinance related to permitted and prohibited activities at city parks and waterways. Public comment will be accepted during the voting meeting in accordance with the usual process. As always, meetings are open to the public and available to watch

live or later online. Thank you. Now, let's talk about the Prescott Fire Department. It was established in 1885 and is the oldest fire department in the state. Fire Station 71 is part of a department with a proud history that began when volunteer bucket brigades protected a growing frontier town. Over time, that spirit of service evolved into the modern, highly trained department that we rely on today, one that continues to adapt, grow, and respond to the needs of our community. The Prescott Fire Department plays a critical role, not only in the medical and emergency response, but also in fire prevention, inspections, community education, and regional coordination, work that keeps our residents, businesses, and visitors safe every day.

I'm especially pleased to be joined today by Fire Chief Holdger Dura, whose leadership reflects both respect for the department's long history and a clear focus on the future. Chief Dura, thank you, and please take a moment to share more about the Prescott Fire Department an update on the department's strategic planning efforts and how recent investments are strengthening public safety and how our community can help shape the path forward. Thank you, Mayor. Appreciate being here.

So, today, you really want to share an important update on the future of our department. As you know, back in 2022, we started a new strategic planning effort that really is the foundation for everything that we've done, including the successful passing of Proposition 478. For us, strategic planning is not just a book on a shelf. We do performance-based, outcome-driven, budgeting and strategic planning, and we use that to ensure that the services that we deliver are active and effective, and we measure that effectiveness and report it to council on a regular basis.

As we look forward to our 2026 update, our goal is really simple. We want a plan that continues to reflect the entire community. We're looking for a diverse set of stakeholders, residents, business owners, and local partners to help us refine our priorities. And therefore, we need your feedback. to make this work. Please visit our website to fill out our community survey. The deadline is February 14th. In addition, if you prefer to offer your feedback in person, we invite you to join us for an in-person stakeholder session on February 25th. We're also hosting several open houses over the next few months

to gather feedback for the City Council. Your voice is the most important part of this plan, and we thank you for helping us keep Prescott safe. You're already seeing the results of this plan in action, as I mentioned. The project's funded by Proposition 478, such as a new stations, improving our existing stations, and increasing our staffing to serve you better. Those are all tools that we need to keep our response times low and safety in the community at the highest level we can. But equipment is only half the battle. We also have to look at the environment that we live in. Prescott is a beautiful city, but our proximity to the forest means we have to be proactive at wildfire risk. We currently are preparing to update our wildland urban interface

or wooie code. We know how important it is to get this right. We need a code that's comprehensively reducing risk while ensuring that construction and growth in our city are not unduly impact. Remember, codes are just one part of becoming a fire-adaptic community, which is a conversation we started a couple of years ago. It's collective effort involving education, landscape management, smart building, and a lot of other things. And thank you, Chief, for being here with us today, and thank you to the men and women of the Prescott Fire Department for your continued service. We appreciate you staying engaged, informed, and connected. I look forward to sharing more updates with you soon. Thank you.